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Louisville basketball: What are the Cards getting in Jay Scrubb?

By Jacob Ritchie

LOUISVILLE, KY - FEBRUARY 19: Head coach Chris Mack of the Louisville Cardinals looks on during a game against the Syracuse Orange at KFC YUM! Center on February 19, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Syracuse 90-66. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - FEBRUARY 19: Head coach Chris Mack of the Louisville Cardinals looks on during a game against the Syracuse Orange at KFC YUM! Center on February 19, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Syracuse 90-66. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KY – FEBRUARY 05: Louisville Cardinals players react from the bench in the second half of a game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at KFC YUM! Center on February 5, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Wake Forest 86-76. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – FEBRUARY 05: Louisville Cardinals players react from the bench in the second half of a game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at KFC YUM! Center on February 5, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Wake Forest 86-76. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Veteran leadership and defensive tenacity

The 2020 Louisville basketball squad will no doubt be an extremely talented group, but they will be extremely young, especially in the backcourt and on the wing. Assuming there are no transfers or players who surprisingly leave early for the NBA Draft the Cards should return the following group of players and in addition to adding two incoming freshmen as well as Scrubb.

Guards: Darius Perry (Sr.), David Johnson (So.), Josh Nickelberry (So.)

Wings: Samuell Williamson (So.), Quinn Slazinski (So.), Jae’Lyn Withers (R-fr.), Jay Scrubb (Jr.) D’Andre Davis (Fr.)

Bigs: Malik Williams (Sr.), Aidan Igiehon (So.), JJ Traynor (Fr.)

Louisville will obviously lose a significant amount of talent this offseason, therefore, it will be important for Louisville’s new recruits to help carry the torch offensively as well as defensively.

Scrubb’s offensive numbers speak for themselves, but he’s no scrub….. defensively either. He has averaged 1.1 steals per game as well as 1.6 blocks per game during his JUCO career, numbers that should translate well for an NBA sized two-guard.

He will also bring a veteran mentality to the team, as someone who will have played two years of college ball already, and as mentioned above, competed at the highest levels collegiately in Summer camps. His list of accolades speak for themselves, and Louisville stands to lose the leadership that has carried the team this season.

Guys like Malik Williams, Steven Enoch, Jordan Nwora, Dwayne Sutton, etc. all who make a huge impact on the cohesiveness of the team, will no longer be Cardinals after this season. He’s someone who knows how to fight the adversity of not getting the offers he wanted, taking having to play at the junior college level in stride and shining as arguably one of the best college players not only there but in the entire country.

If Scrubb’s game translates even 50 percent as well as people think it will, his time as a Cardinal will most likely be short-lived, but his impact will be immeasurable.

Next. An open letter to Team 106. dark

Welcome to Louisville Jay Scrubb, and Go Cards!

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